Benching a four-time champion and five-time All-Star was never not going to make headlines. Klay Thompson an integral part of the Warriors dynasty found himself on the bench after starting 727 straight games and he was less than happy about it. Even though he torched the Utah Jazz coming off the bench in the February game, many believe his treatment by Steve Kerr, led to his eventual departure.

Thompson is now settled in Dallas following a three-year, $50 million contract and is looking forward to the 2024-25 season. But narratives surrounding his exit from the Golden State Warriors continue. Since the start of the last season, rumors surrounding the 4x champion’s longevity with the Dubs have been loud. Although Klay tried to downplay it, the signs were too obvious to disregard them. And just like that, the era of the Splash Brothers ended. But not the tales.

Now, we have got two former NBA stars who have their own rendition of what went down. And we will start with Gilbert Arenas. While the ex-Warriors star wasn’t downright sharp as his co-host, Arenas believes that Steph Curry’s compliance with Coach Kerr’s decision to bench Klay may have been a factor for the less-than-pleasant exit.

Curry and Thompson are synonymous with the Warriors’ golden era. They played together for 13 seasons winning 473 games, setting a standard for 3-point marksmanship, and scooping up four NBA titles in the process. But the iconic duo split up in the summer.

On his Gil’s Arena podcast on September 11, Arenas said, “I can tell you that for you to take a starter out of his position, there has to be a meeting.” Rashad McCants nodded in agreement and said, “You gotta agree to this s—.”

“The reason is this: we’re used to playing a certain way. So you’re just not going to go on game day and then there’s going to be a whole new starting five, right? …You not gonna say alright here is a starting five and say Klay not there cause then we going to be like what the f—k is going on here. you’re not playing?  That f—- the chemistry up,” Arenas went on.

He then added that the Warriors may have been already preparing to play without Thompson when they made the decision to bench him. “So that means they had some practices are already where Klay wasn’t starting, we’re gonna try something new. Or they had to have a conversation with Draymond Green, staff, and the other four, say, ‘Yeah, we going to try something different.’ So there was a warning. There had to be a lead-up to it to make everybody comfortable with the move,” Gil reasoned.

Of course, there’s no evidence that proves this is what happened. Benching a player, even a long-time starter, falls under the discretion of a coach. Meaning that there is no particular rule that states a coach cannot, in fact, bench players without notifying them. But as Arenas pointed out, the discussion, if it happens, is more of a matter of team communication or respect for the players. A decision to drop such a high-profile player is also not something that is decided on the game day as Arenas suggested.

If you remember, in the 2022 Lakers vs Pacers Game 2, then-coach Frank Vogel benched Russell Westbrook for the final 3:52. Needless to say, the 2017 MVP was highly critical of the sudden change. You get the idea, right? Thompson wasn’t pleased with the decision, but his departure from the Warriors wasn’t down to one critical moment, the seeds were being sowed, deliberately or otherwise.

In early December against the Phoenix Suns,  Steve Kerr decided to pull him from the closing lineup for the first time in his career. Thompson wasn’t pleased, not one bit. He smashed a cup rack behind the bench and had to be restrained by Curry.

Then on February 5, against the Brooklyn Nets, Steve Kerr opted to close with Gui Santos over Thompson, who had not been up to the mark in the fourth quarter, a story of his season. Even though the Warriors won, his post-match interview grabbed headlines.

“To go from one of the best players…It’s hard for anybody. I’ll be honest with you,” Thompson said.” He had tallied 17.1 points per game till that point, a drop compared to his previous 20-point average seasons. If not getting to close a game upset him, you could imagine his anger at being benched for the first time since 2012.

In the game against the Jazz on February 15, he came off the bench, scored a season-high 35 points, and led his side to a 140-137 win. Afterward, Kerr revealed Thompson wasn’t thrilled with the decision but it led to him putting up his best offensive performance of the season.

Kerr’s decision to him would make sense, he struggled in the final quarters of many games. Before the Jazz game, with the Warriors three points and only 38 seconds left, Thompson intentionally fouled Russell Westbrook, leading to their defeat. The Warriors sat 26-26 and something had to give. After Thompson’s demotion to the bench, the team won five of their next six games and his performance also improved as he averaged  19.2 points per game.

However, as it turns out, all this was leading to the tipping point that led to Thompson ending his 13-year stay with the Golden State. During his first press conference after signing for the Mavericks, Thompson shed light on his move. He said, “Coming here is just a fresh start. Feeling just wanted again, like I bring great value. It just gets me excited to go out there and work out after this press conference and get shots up. There were times last year where it was tough and it wasn’t as joyful as it was in the past.” Mavericks will hope the allure of a fresh challenge will ignite Thompson, who finished last season with an average of 17.9 points, his lowest mark since 2012/13.

A fresh, firing Thompson is what perhaps will aid the Mavericks’ title bid after falling short last season against the Celtics. Going back to the Gil’s Arena, what did our “other” NBA star have to say on the subject?

Ex-Minnesota star accuses Curry, Green of being dismissive of Klay Thompson’s struggles

“I feel like nobody had his back,” Rashad McCants said woefully of Thompson’s situation. When Jennings asked if the whole drama was due to the disagreement on money, McCants looked furious. “Podziemski went in and started over you, bro! They had you coming off the bench, bro!” he emphasized, making sure the guys understood how disrespectful it would have felt to Klay Thompson.

He also added that had Steph wanted to, he could have prevented it. When Brandon Jennings asked how much of a say Curry had in the matter, Rashad said, “A lot! He has leverage.”

This was one of the league’s best three-point shooters, a cornerstone of the Warriors dynasty, grinding and working hard from the get go to turn the franchise into what it is today. While the emotions behind McCants’ words do make sense, Kerr had basically spoken the raw truth on many occasions, leading up to their 46-36 record.

Ultimately, as a coach, the priority would be to get wins. And difficult decisions are part of it. At the time, Klay Thompson ended up being the recipient of what might be seen as harsh. Well, do you think these two men have a point? Or would you rather turn that chapter and focus on the brand new Mavs vs Warriors thriller? Let us know in the comments.